At Corner Booth Productions, they really like to tell stories. Their favorite stories are those of their clients, and they like those stories to communicate, clearly, the exact nature of the client. The story may be told as a television commercial, a training video, a new product launch, or corporate branding. "Whoever tells the best story wins," says Frank Swoboda, Corner Booth partner.

Corner Booth, at 122 S. Monroe, is a media production company following the model of similar production companies in Los Angeles. According to Larayne Decoeur, Corner Booth partner, the LA way is for all work to be done under one production roof with the production company providing all services whether they are "in-house," freelance, or sub-vendors. "We are really a full service production company," says Decoeur, "but the difference is, the client can pick and choose who they want to work with to give them the best look and feel for their budget."

This means that Corner Booth forms strategic alliances with other vendors and uses the "large pool of freelance, creative talent" available in the Spokane area. According to Swoboda, these alliances make it possible to offer to the client the largest and strongest team available with technical expertise and state-of-the-art facilities. "There is a good and active freelance community in Spokane,"says Swoboda. "There is also a phenomenal group of music composers here."

Corner Booth was so-named because Swoboda and Mark Forman planned the company in the corner booth at Ferguson's Caf? on Garland. "It's a place," they say, "where ideas and people meet, and it gives us the best view of what's possible for our clients." The company is now two and a half years old. Larayne Decoeur became an additional partner at Corner Booth, and has been there for one year. Swoboda and Decoeur are Spokane natives, and Forman wended his way west from Wisconsin. Forman and Swoboda are recent graduates of North by Northwest Productions, whereas Decoeur cut her professional teeth in the Los Angles media production industry. All of the partners are accomplished writers, producers and directors.

Working with regional and national advertising agencies, Corner Booth has created television commercials, corporate videos, and branding materials for clients across the United States. Examples of their clients include Golf Pride in North Carolina; the Army Corps of Engineers, Spokane Teacher's Credit Union, 3 Rivers Communications, Sterling International, and Gonzaga University. High speed Internet makes it possible to send commercials by e-mail and confer with distant clients in real time. This makes everyone's time more efficient. Being in the Terabyte Triangle facilitates the necessary connectivity. "Being downtown is great," says Forman, "when out-of-town clients visit, they really love being in the middle of everything."

The Corner Booth team brings years of experience to their company. "Experience is why people trust us with their project --- their brand," says Forman. Corner Booth partners have worked in all phases of their industry --- from music production to feature length movies, and from corporate branding to television sit-coms. In their corporate branding work, they pride themselves on being able to understand and then translate to laymen's terms the most complex of technology products. Forman's past work with Packet Engines is an example. Corner Booth won 2002 American Advertising "National Addy Awards" for their work in branding Gonzaga University and for their national Golf Pride commercials.

Along with her work in commercials, Decoeur has written and produced numerous nationally aired television programs with credits on NBC, A&E, History Channel, Discovery, Travel Channel, American Movie Classics, and Court TV. She is now working with the Barton school at the First Presbyterian church on a media presentation of their literacy program. The literacy program is for anyone of any age who has a literacy problem. These may be people for whom English is a second language, or for native speakers. The video is meant to tell the story of the program and to help recruit volunteer teachers and teachers' aids.

Corner Booth has many other projects in the hopper. For example, Forman and Swoboda are working on an admissions video for Gonzaga, targeted towards potential students to help them decide on whether to attend GU. "Were always shooting commercials, as well," says Decoeur.

Whether the client is an advertising agency or a non-profit, corporate, or government agency with an in-house marketing department, the happy and satisfied client is Corner Booth's main mission. They know that the satisfied customer is their best sales person. "Call us," says Swoboda, "we can help you tell your story."